Ron passed away peacefully at his home on Thursday, March 19th, with his family at his side. Ron is survived by his wife, Sherry, two sons, their spouses, a granddaughter, five siblings, many in-laws, and all those who loved him. His older brother George and his parents, Isabel and Earl, preceded him in death.

Ron was the second of seven siblings. The family moved to Portland when he was 2 1/2 years old. He had happy memories of his early years growing up in the kid-filled neighborhood of Ladd’s Addition. He attended St. Phillip Neri’s Grade School, and Central Catholic High School. He went to college at Portland State University (PSU), where he met his wife, and received his degree in Psychology.

Ron returned to PSU later earning a Certificate of Public Health when, as he would say, he realized he needed to earn a living. In 1984 he earned a Master’s degree in Public Administration. Ron went on to enjoy a satisfying 35-year career in Environmental Public Health at the State of Oregon. With family encouragement, he followed the call of service to Thailand, Iraq, and Rwanda providing help in refugee camps with the organization “Public Health International,” for which he later served as a member of the Board of Governors.

From a young age, the religious education he received at home and at school, was a positive influence for Ron. As a young adult he spent time traveling to Mexico, Europe and India and like many of his generation, he questioned old and explored new ideas. During that period, he found and began a meditation practice that remained important to him all his life. His interest in world religions began to blossom too; he became an ardent reader and very knowledgeable about religious history and religions of the world. Early on he taught a class at PSU, and his passion for these topics eventually led him to teach many classes in world religions at First Unitarian in Portland.

Ron and Sherry married in the mid-seventies. Ron was a hard worker, an attentive father of his two boys, and a loving husband. If he wasn’t supplementing the family income by painting houses, he would be at cub-scout meetings, or coaching one of the kid’s innumerable, baseball and basketball, teams. Even if he wasn’t the coach, he would still be at every one of their games grade school through high school.

Ron and his wife sponsored and coached the chess club at Lewis school for six years. The team, including his sons and a few neighbors, did very well in local and regional competitions. The family’s five week family trip to Mexico in 1982, and again some years later, were important family memories. With the children grown, the couple was able to travel together more and took trips to Greece, Istanbul, Cuba, Bolivia, Peru, Eastern Canada, Hawaii, and Italy.

Ron stayed involved with his sons as adults, offering help with house projects and repairs, and generally being a steady, loving presence always with sage advice. He adored his granddaughter, with whom he shared a love of books. He was an assistant basketball coach for the freshman team at Cleveland High School with his oldest son for seven years, something they both enjoyed greatly.

Ron loved his sports. As the children got older, he began to play golf more regularly with friends and even got two holes in one. He continued to play pick-up basketball at PSU and although he vowed to quit at 70 he instead continued on. Watching every Ducks game with the family was a pleasure until the end–celebrating a Rose Bowl and a Pac-12 basketball title are fond memories of his final months. Go Ducks!

Ron would often tell people that he had a full life: “I kissed the Blarney Stone, bathed in the River Ganges, ran with the bulls in Pamplona, played golf at St Andrews, and bartered in the Medina of Morocco.”

He loved life and will be dearly missed.